Oh Yeah! Wild Pacific Salmon Season is HERE!

May is a great month if you’re a salmon lover! We’ve had King (Chinook) Salmon from the Columbia River in Washington and from Sitka Alaska for about a month now and they have been awesome! Super fresh with a great color and high fat content.

The world famous Alaskan Copper River Season opened on May 13 this year. These fish are some of the finest, richest, most delicious salmon in the world. Because of their long spawning run (up to 300 miles) these fish fatten up for the trip, giving them great flavor, succulent texture and lots of omega 3s.

The Copper River Sockeye salmon will be running also and we’ll expect to see them within the next couple of weeks. Sockeyes have the super red fillet and are prized by the Japanese. They’re probably the most flavorful of all the Pacific Salmon—leaner than the Kings but the Copper River run will be the richest Sockeye of the season. After the sockeye run we’ll see Cohos (Silvers) from Washington to Alaska. The Cohos are a bit milder than Kings or Sockeyes…kind of like a smaller and more delicate King.

There are two more commercial Pacific salmon—the Chum and the Pink Salmon. The Pinks are small with a soft and very perishable flesh. Super fresh Pinks are good eating but most of them go the the cannery and we rarely see them. Chums are also known as Dog Salmon (because they feed them to the mush dog) and are not as highly regarded as the other species of salmon. They are generally leaner and aren’t as bright in color as the other salmons. However, the last couple of years have brought us a new treat—rich, fat, flavorful Chums from the Yukon River. The Yukon had been closed for commercial fishing for the past 30 years to protect the fish stocks. It’s the longest river in Alaska (2,300 miles) and the Yukon Chums have a fat content on par with the Kings. They are delicious and a great value.

I know you’ve heard the word “fat” a lot in this post, but remember the fat we’re talking about is the GOOD fat—unsaturated, high omega fat with all its amazing health benefits. Omega-3s are not one single nutrient, but a collection of several, including eicosapentaenic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). Both are found in greatest abundance in coldwater fish—and that, say experts, is one reason so many of us are deficient. So enjoy LOTS of wild salmon this summer. It’s hard to believe that something so rich and delicious is so good for you!